Rethinking Humanizing of the Brazilian Unified Health System in the light of the Health Care Networks

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.2012363397406

Abstract

This article is a proposal of theoretical discussion about the policies of humanization in health. The discussion comes from
our awareness of an epidemiological transition in which chronic diseases with metabolic characteristics predominate instead
of infectious ones. However, the health system is not prepared for helping people in their chronic conditions, because
it is organized for severe spontaneous events or for events arising from chronic conditions. Therefore the answers to the
problems are generally not appropriate, putting the health system in crisis due to the lack of solutions for chronic conditions.
This points to the necessity for constructing a clinic able to deal with assisting the daily life of people in chronic conditions.
One of the activation devices of this clinic, combining autonomy and responsibility, is the therapeutic plan created
for each user in her particular health condition. This plan has to be designed as a care line based on the interactions with
the health service network. This new context of the care service brings new challenges to humanization, which cannot be
reduced to the helping dispositive, and needs to include also assisted self-care, which depends on the health care network.